Hello all. Recently joind the ranks of you tacoma owners and I'm loving it. Much more useful than my old 97 Buick Lesabre (though not quite as much room in the back seat...)

As a student I chose to go the economic route and get a 5 speed SR5 access cab as the only time we ever used 4 wd with my dad's 4Runner was when living in Alaska.....and I don't think I'll be heading back anytime soon. Anyway - this has left me itching to do some of the more basic mods like fogs, bed mat, new wheels etc so my truck is a bit more unique than the basic tacoma. I've already been browsing the forums and have gotten some great info. Hopefully I'll have something to contribute in the future as I get to know my truck

To get to the point though, I recently urchased the tacoma skid plate from my dealership (got a wicked good deal though), the one with a bunch of holes across the front, and even though it did not come with instructions i thought my abilities and experience would allow me to figure out where the mounting brackets go - not too complicated. Well, basically I can't figure it out and wanted to know if someone could explain or if I posted a pic point out what I'm missing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

hey, i bought one of those off of the dealers shelf as well w/ no instructions. i think it's installed correctly, and if it's not, it hasn't fallen off yet

i held it up under the truck and lined it up, you basically remove the front (toward the bumper) and use the two longer screws, then you find the two rear bolts, un-tighten them and slid the skid plate under then, then tighten the front screws followed by the rear. does this make any sense? i don't have any pictures right now, but i can try and take pictures later if needed.

so i actually had been given the wrong skid plate by my local dealership - that solves a lot of problems. the correct one (looks like all the ones i see in pictures) came with instructions, but i still think i'd like to see a picture because i don't seem to have the same type of engine cover as pictured in the instructions.

about the brackets - i see what you're saying. the first plate i got had these two large, l shaped monstrosities as well as a huge bag of hardware - it doesn't look like i need to mess with the brackets on the correct plate.

i wonder if perhaps the 09 is a bit different given these instructions are several years old?